I am against RSS ideology: Rahul Gandhi

Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, September 29

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said here that he was opposed to the RSS ideology that intended to divide the country.

After appearing in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) in a defamation suit filed against him by the RSS, the Congress vice-president said such cases wouldn’t deter him from continuing his fight for the interests of the downtrodden and suppressed.

“I work for the suppressed, downtrodden, unemployed, poor farmers of the country. These cases are filed against me to prevent me from working for the weaker and deprived sections. But I will not be deterred by such designs,” he said.

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The CJM court here released Rahul on a bond of Rs 50,000 in a criminal defamation case filed against him by the RSS. The court has fixed November 5 as the next date of hearing. Counsel for the RSS, Bijon Mohajan, said the Congress vice-president did not apply before the court to spare him from personal appearance in the case during further hearing. Gandhi will be asked to submit his explanation of the offence during the next hearing.

Gandhi appeared in the court at 10 am and came out at 10.45 am. The hearing was conducted amid tight security. Coming out of the court, Rahul drove to Rajiv Bhawan to address a meeting of party leaders, but not before he paid tribute to Swahid Kushal Konwar, a freedom movement martyr, at Nehru Park in front of the court premises.

The case was filed against him by RSS member Anjan Bora because of Gandhi’s comment made against the RSS accusing the latter of conspiring to prevent him (Gandhi) from entering Barpeta Satra (a Vaishnavite monastery) in western Assam during his visit to the state in December 2015. Gandhi, however, had visited the monastery later in the day of his padayatra.